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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27046930">An Easier Escape</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_nb/pseuds/h_nb'>h_nb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Keaton [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Escape, Forced to beg, Held at Gunpoint, Whump, Whumptober 2020, can you tell burnout is approaching?, i sure can :), restrained, threatened</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:33:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27046930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_nb/pseuds/h_nb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Whumptober Day Sixteen: Forced to Beg</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keaton Angara (OC) &amp; Jae Rivers (OC)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Keaton [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>An Easier Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He stared down the barrel of a gun, the night wind swirling around him. His heel was over open air, there weren't any more steps Keaton could take that didn't lead straight down.</p><p>"Tell us," said the one holding the gun. "Convince us to let you live." A terrifying grin slipped onto his face. "Beg for your goddamn life before I decide to take it from you."</p><p>Across the room, Jae shook his head, unable to move from how she was being held back. Keaton's eyes flicked to him, and then back to the gun. He could just see Jae's mouth moving, trying to say something, but the hand over his mouth kept him from communicating, and Keaton was very aware of the knife that was pointed at Jae's side. </p><p>Keaton had never considered himself a strong person. Through all these beatings he had taken in pursuing his passion and exploring these areas that turned out worse than expected, learning how to roll with the punches didn't make them hurt any less. So it was easy for him to raise his hands and begin to beg for his life.</p><p>In the movies, the hero didn't stammer to be let go, to not be shot. The hero always stood strong, defiant in the face of death, willing to die for his cause. But Keaton didn't <em>have</em> a cause. He was just one person, trying his best to explore the places that called to him; if he died here he wouldn't die any kind of martyr; that was never what he had wanted in the first place. All he wanted was to live, and that's what he begged for, begged for the two of them be left alone and to be allowed to leave. Honesty came easy as he explained what he did for a living and why he hadn't been trying to eavesdrop on them, he had just been taking Jae exploring, that they knew this place was occasionally occupied but Keaton had taken a chance, pulled by the desire that tugged him on so many adventures that ended in disaster, although this time he had taken Jae with him, and he had never meant to get his friend mixed up in all this.</p><p>He paused to take a breath, eyes flicking from a deferential glance at the floor back to the man in front of them, who still stood with his arm extended and a cocky smirk on his face. "Is that all," the man said, tone just as threatening as before.</p><p>"Wh-what else do you want?" Keaton asked, praying the man didn't advance on him any further, he was out of places to go.</p><p>The man frowned, looking up in consideration. "Dunno." He turned to his friends who were holding Jae back. "I mean, this isn't exactly a situation that happens very often, huh?"</p><p>Keaton exhaled in quiet relief, though he felt no less afraid as long as the gun continued to point at him.</p><p>One of the others laughed sharply, and Keaton saw Jae's slight flinch. "I just think none of us want to deal with two bodies tonight, yeah?"</p><p>"Yeah, too much of a goddamn hassle. But we will." The man's demeanor switched from lighthearted to serious in an instant, and Keaton's foot scuffed along the edge of the building, arms out to keep his balance, barely breathing. "You tell anyone about what you saw today and we'll make sure you're found and shot, gotcha?"</p><p>"I'm also-" Keaton's voice was shaky as a panic-stricken laugh came over him. "We're also illegally trespassing in here, so, uh, no one to tell."</p><p>"And you?" The hand over Jae's mouth retracted, and her scowling mouth reluctantly responded in agreement. "Good."</p><p>Keaton stepped forward warily as the gun was lowered, eyes on Jae, who was dusting himself off with a slight wince on her face. He could feel the eyes of the men around him on both of them; Jae and Keaton wasted no time rushing out of there, clasping hands as they ran out of the building and back to Jae's motorcycle.</p><p>"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," Keaton said as they came to a stop. "You're alright, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, hey, it's okay." Jae took a back, looking over Keaton with mild concern. "Not my ideal way of spending a Saturday night -- well, let me rephrase. The gun and those guys were not the ideal part. The exploring, the stuff before, that was- fun." She grinned, hand raising to turn Keaton's head to the side slightly as the smile faded. "Gonna have to get some ice for those bruises, you cool with me crashing again so we can get those fixed up?"</p><p>Keaton smiled back, though it hurt his throbbing cheek to do so. "I mean, I could definitely take care of it myself, I've done it before."</p><p>Jae sighed in mock disappointment. "But who's gonna rent a bunch of shitty movies for two bucks that we'll fall asleep in the middle of watching?"</p><p>"I don't understand why we can't watch something actually good," Keaton said with a laugh that quickly tapered off as it bothered the bruises forming on his face. "Maybe I won't let you crash, maybe I'll kick you out so I can watch an actually good movie."</p><p>"You wouldn't," Jae challenged with a knowing grin. "C'mon, get on, let's head back, get out of here before those weirdos change their minds."</p><p>Keaton clambered onto the back of the motorcycle, wrapping his arms around Jae's middle. "No, I wouldn't."</p><p>They sped off into the night, hours of crappy movies and reheated takeout ahead of them, a night to wash away the memory of the scare they had nearly been through. It wasn't enough to completely shake the image of the gun pointed at Keaton's head from either of their minds for good, but for tonight, it would be enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i think a lack of sleep is frying my brain, this one definitely ain't my strongest lol</p></blockquote></div></div>
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